Catatonia, Shutdown and Breakdown in Autism: A Psycho-Ecological Approach

by Amitta Shah

Overview

This ground-breaking book provides the first detailed clinical analysis of the various manifestations of catatonia, shutdown and breakdown in autistic individuals, with a new assessment framework (ACE-S) and guidance on intervention and management strategies using a psycho-ecological approach. Based on Dr Amitta Shah's lifetime of clinical experience in Autism Spectrum Disorders, and her research in collaboration with Dr Lorna Wing, this much needed book will be a valuable resource for professionals, autistic individuals and their families and carers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785922497
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	08/21/2019
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	862,953
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.47(d)

About the Author

Dr Amitta Shah is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with over 35 years of clinical and research experience in Autism. She has worked extensively in the NHS and the Medical Research Council, UK. Dr Shah is currently Clinical Director at Leading Edge Psychology, UK, and an Associate Consultant at the NAS Lorna Wing Centre for Autism. She has an international reputation as an expert clinician in complex issues in autism, including behaviour and mental health breakdown and catatonia.

Table of Contents

Foreword Dr Judith Gould 9

Acknowledgements 13

Preface 15

1 Introduction 19

2 Manifestations of Catatonia, Shutdown and Breakdown in Autism 29

3 Different Lives - Similar Stories 45

4 Consequences of Misdiagnosis and Misconception 69

5 Possible Causal Factors 81

6 Intervention and Management Approaches 95

7 The Psycho-Ecological Approach 101

8 Application of the Psycho-Ecological Approach 125

Epilogue 143

Appendix 1 Autism Catatonia Evaluation (ACES) 147

Appendix 2 Further Information 157

References 159

Editorial Reviews

We have been identifying catatonia in adolescents and adults with autism for nearly 20 years, yet this is the first comprehensive book to describe how to evaluate the many expressions of catatonia, and outline an approach to alleviate the debilitating characteristics. Clinicians, families and those who have autism will now have a much clearer idea of what to do.

Tony Attwood

This is a wise and compassionate book, informed by clinical experience and a deep commitment to working with autistic individuals affected by catatonia, a perplexing and enigmatic condition. Through case vignettes, the various manifestations of the condition are revealed together with a psycho-ecological approach to management.

Dr Sarah Lister Brook

This book will change your life if you have struggled with difficulties in starting, stopping or controlling actions. Pioneering psychologist Amitta Shah, explores these troublesome features of autism, never documented in such vivid detail before. She tells what they mean, how they can be assessed, and what can be done about them.

Uta Frith DBE

Amitta Shah's important book fills a much-needed gap on an aspect of autism that has been neglected and misunderstood for decades. Dr Shah builds on her vast clinical experience of over 30 years to provide a wonderfully clear analysis of these states, including identifying anxiety and stress as potential causal triggers, as well as these states being possible effects of inappropriate medication. Her book will help families, autistic people, and clinicians be alert to such states, and know how to provide effective help and support. This book will be a hugely valuable resource and will reduce the risks of misdiagnosis.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen